Going Home

5:00 came early.  We had set our alarm for 5 am, but just before it went off, we were awakened by the call to prayer from the nearby Mosque...it would be the last time that we would hear that for a while.  It was with great reluctance that we dragged ourselves out of bed, not because we got so little sleep, but that we had reached the end of the journey and had to go back to face the realities of our lives and leave our adventure behind.  We got all of our luggage to the front door and went in to greet the others who were also traveling with us.  Miriam had already left for the Hilton worried that the folks who were going to the airport from there would have some troubles and so she wanted to make sure that they got on their way.  Ebi accompanied us to the airport while Turner and Matthew Larsen stayed behind.  There was little room for them in the van with 6 passengers and many suitcases.  There was no traffic at that hour and we sailed to the airport in no time at all.  Miriam was already there and greeted us while Ebi procured porters to carry our luggage.  We said our goodbyes and started the complex process of going through the myriad of checkpoints to get on the plane... first you have to show passports and your travel info and have the luggage go through screening and again to get your boarding passes, then you must fill out cards telling what you purchased and then have your luggage go through a search by hand.  Fortunately, when they asked us the reason for our visit and we told them for the  wedding of Tariye Isoun and Demola Gbadegesin, they whisked us through without another  thought...it's pretty cool to be so well connected... then through   customs and immigration without any problems.  We did see Miriam briefly because she ended up having to pay someone money to get the van   from being towed or something.  My hope is that they let her off the hook.  The driver was just staying around for her.  We bumped in to many wedding goers heading home in all directions and got another charge out of how far this family has made connections and relationships...pretty cool.

The flights home were rough...the seats seemed smaller, the people not as happy to let you recline, and not as easy to rest.  Maybe it was our reluctance to head home, but it wasn't nearly as fun as going.  In London, we went through the same routine with going through the carry on bags and  then we meandered around the shops and caught a bite to eat and got on the computers and tried to catch up on email, blogging and facebook without much enthusiasm.  The flight to Boston was even worse and we were really tired at this point.  By the time we arrived, we had been going for 22 hours, but the flights were smooth and blessedly uneventful.  Customs was a breeze and Libby came to pick us up.  She was glad to see her Matthew and we brought her to her house before going to Matthew's apartment.  Upon arrival, we unloaded the basics and then John asked if we had seen his camera bag...@#*&#...somehow in our excitement about getting in to the car, we had forgotten it...so many pictures, John's passport was in there too...we were all feeling the frustration.  So back into the car the boys went and back to the terminal...it was now 12:30 am or so.  Melinda called the airport and could only leave a message on an answering machine.  She called Libby in the hope that we had left the bag at her apartment, but no such luck.  It would have been a huge disappointment and the only blemish to the trip, but upon arrival at the terminal, it was there, right where John had set it next to the bench where we sat waiting for Libby to arrive!  There are a few miracles in life you see.  Sleep came easily that night.

Melinda, John and Matthew

Tomorrow...the trip back to Maine and re-entry.

Final Day in Abuja

We slept in later, of course, after our spectacular day on Saturday. Miriam was up as usual at the crack of dawn and Turner rises early as well. I failed to mention that while we were living  in the lap of luxury in our private rooms, as all of the guests in the house were, Turner and Miriam had given up their  own room and were sleeping in a room off of the main house that we think is used for the assistants. Such incredible hosts! We hope that they come back to the US and then we can reciprocate in some small way.

We straightened up some more of the soda bottles that had been left out from the last couple of days and tried to arrange things back in to order. We had our final breakfast, Nigerian style with our yam and pepper soup and said our goodbyes to Peace, Miriam's cook/assistant in the home and offered her thanks for her hard work. We all decided to return to the craft village and the market to do some final souvenir shopping. We were a large group...Miriam, Ebi and Matt Larsen, the 3 Wentworths, Jim and Mary Ann, Dean and Rebecca Thompson... and some friends of the Isouns and now to us from the DC area and their daughter Kaya (sp?). We piled into 3 vehicles and headed over to the crafts market. Not all shops were open, it being Sunday, but enough were to make it fun. We all made wonderful choices and dickered away with the vendors...jewelry, artwork,  leather cushions made from camel hides called poofs with leather"rugs" to match, woven baskets, wooden carvings, and much more...then we were off to the open air market...it was sweltering at this point, and the sun was beating down on us, but we were determined shoppers...a mini stimulus package. Melinda was most interested in buying cloth to take home and others spotted scarves and such, but cloth was definitely the big seller at this market. With Miriam as our official haggler, we made good purchases in short shrift and we meandered our way back to our vehicles. The market on Sundays has a different feel. Many of the stalls are closed up as people are taking the Christian Sabbath off to attend church or rest. There is a less frenetic pace than on the other days. However, the Muslims who rest on Saturdays stand in for them providing their wares in front of the closed stalls. The vendors are never pushy with you. While they encourage you to come in and see their items for sale, they respect your personal space. On our way out Miriam stopped to buy oranges that had had the rind cut off because we were all parched. Then it was back to the hill to relax a bit and have cool drinks and chat. We all had  slices of the wedding cake which was more like a ginger/spice pound cake. Nigerians don't have many sweets or snack food that we saw.  It was very tasty. A little later the wedding couple showed up after spending a day by the pool with their friends at the Hilton. They chilled out with us and began opening presents and several of us went into the kitchen to prepare a big vat of Jambalaya for dinner. There was a flurry of activity in the kichen as we sterilized the veggies before chopping them. Peppers, onions, garlic tomatoes & chicken stock were simmering on the stove as we deboned chicken to saute and then mix in with the sauce. Melinda had brought cajun spices with her as a gift and so the sauce was authentic, and we gave it a more healthy flair because we also threw in corn and green beans...It is called Jambalaya, you know. There were many toasts and stories. Diseye came by with Ilse, Hella and Marie Jose and joined us also for dinner. They had stopped in earlier and dropped off gifts for us before our departure. Melinda had a wonderful surprise. The pot that she had painted at the pottery village had been fired and Stephen had brought it into town and delivered it to Ilse. What a great memento of our trip that will be. Marie Jose also gave us a Dutch dishcloth to remember her by. She was also a fun addition to our mix.  There was much discussion and laughter and toasting.  It is always great to hear the opinions of others and find out what makes them tick and to mull around in your mind what others think and make your own assessments.  We hung around the dinner table until probably around 10 pm.  Victoria, Tariye's household assistant came in to say goodbye and we gave her a round of thanks for her hard work and then things started to wind down.  Everyone began to trickle out and we went to our rooms to try to figure out how we would be able to get all of souvenirs in the suitcases.  It was close to 1 am before we finally got to bed.  We showered so that we wouldn't have to do anything in the morning except hop on the bus at 5:15...Can't believe it's gone by so fast...what a special time we've had here.

Cheers,

Melinda, John and Matthew

We'll wrap up in the next post and then have some reflections about our trip as we process all of it in our heads.  Plus we will get up some photos soon, we promise!

Wedding Day

Okay, after a good, but shorter night's rest we woke early to start the preparations. There was to be a flurry of activity. Today breakfast was laid out for us continental style...sweet rolls, coffee, and fruit. There was surely no time to really sit down to eat. The helpers started arriving...2 photographers and Maybe 2 videographers, 2 people to do Tariye's long hair into an updo, 3 makeup artists for the bridal party, and 2 women to tie our hair ties. Mary Ann was also around for hair touch ups if needed. Even though we were up early, there was much to be done and people brought flowers to the church and the wicker furniture to the reception area and champagne there as well. We also straightened up a bit from the night before and tried to be there to attend to any details that might arise. Of course just when everything seemed to be sailing along, Miriam discovered that one of Tariye's friends, Dareen Hakim, who was doing a reading, had tried on her dress and it didn't fit. So Miriam set to sewing with less than 2 hours to get to the church. In the end we had all but given up hope that we could figure it out, and Dareen had a backup dress, but we decided to just let it out and sew her into it. It looked great and that crisis was averted. We left for the church, and were the last ones besides the wedding party, at around 10:30. Again we were transported by special buses on loan from the government. We arrived at the Christian Center, a huge modern cathedral and were met on the steps by people who pinned little feathers on out clothes. These folks are unaffiliated with the wedding but do this hoping for donations. Unfortunately we had come unprepared...no naira. Others also unaffiliated took photos of guests while arriving and will tell you later on why. We were escorted in by ladies, all dressed alike with matching head ties, who worked for the wedding planner, We sat next to a woman and her husband who had worked for Turner at the Ministry of Science and Technology, and in front of Ilse, her mother Marie Jose, Diseye and the sweet Hella. All were attired in our matching wedding finery, including Miss Hella. It was very warm, but we had thought to bring water and fans. We waited and waited and were wondering what was happening. At 11:30 or so an announcement was made to have people who were blocking the parking spot for the Vice-President, move their cars as he would be arriving shortly. We didn't really think realize that it would be THE Vice-President of Nigeria, but in fact when he arrived flanked by assistants and body guards, it was pretty clear. Still no sign of Tariye, but by 11:45, we could see members of the bridal party coming in the back entrance and knew that things would be starting soon. While we had been waiting a small combo had been playing music and they started to play Canon in D followed by It's a Wonderful World. It was the most appropriate tune we realized as we looked around to the multicultural, multinational attendees and of course for Melinda, the waterworks began as soon as she saw Ebitari come down the aisle and continued for some time also after seeing Tariye...such beautiful young women...the whole group was of course. The ceremony was great. Dean Thompson was truly at ease in the pulpit and guided us through announcing the wonderful selections by the choir, the readers, and special guests who sang, and offered a lovely service. We were all so touched when our normally outspoken Tariye's voice cracked a bit when she declared her intent to her groom. The way this couple look at each other is so sweet, but it is the same with all of the Isoun children. They all have seemed to have picked their soul mates to share their lives with. Once declared husband and wife, we headed outside and pictures were taken. Matthew and Melinda missed the family photo much to their chagrin, but John made it. They were unaware that it was happening as the 400 or so guests muffled the call for Isoun family. Pictures were taken for some time and then we left for the reception at a lovely park about 20 minutes away. We have never seen a tent this large. It was aproximately 150 feet by 60 and draped with chiffon from one end to another with twinkle lights everywhere. The tables were beautifully set and had the lovely floral arrangements that had been put together at the house and we found a place to sit near the parents of the bride. Hors d'oevres were served tableside and were little bites of Indian somosas and spring rolls and satay. The next course was of course pepper soup, and during these pre main course dishes, to keep us entertained there was a DJ and a very clever jugglerwho did balancing tricks as well. The tent had two large screen tv sets one on either side of the dancing area for those who were not closer enough to the bridal party to see what was going on and there was a live band as well. The bride and groom and their party came in after the appetizers and soup and were introduced and then entrees were served...jollof rice with a cabbage salad and either fish or chicken. Not long after the entrees had been served we got a torrential downpour. Fortunately the tent was large enough that we were able to move our tables in closer to the middle, but the water started going under our feet and we relocated to another table. We inquired about the men at the table how they knew the couple and where they had gone to school...small talk and it was a quite impressive group, 3 or so Harvard MBA's, MIT and Wharton graduates as well. It really got us thinking about how important education played a part in their successes. At this point we started the dancing...special groups called up to dance with the bridal couple after they had danced their first dance and we all joined in the fun. Dessert was served somewhere in the mix and Melinda was asked to cut the cake not knowing that she was just there to cut a morsel for the bride and groom and really there to make a toast. She muddled through it. Ebi gave a lovely toast as did the best man and Turner acknowledged different groups who had travelled far to come to the celebration. An uncle, I think, of Demola"s also toasted the couple as did the best man and then we got down to the more serious dancing. Things started winding down around 7:30 so we boarded a bus back to the house and got out of our fancy wedding attire. We were sure that our evening was over and were just going to chill out at the house, but Ebi and Matthew Larsen convinced us to go to the after party for a while so we cleaned up, changed clothes and got ready to hit the club by 11:00. John and Melinda were, the most senior members of the group for sure. We took our bus to the Hilton to pick up some more revelers. They were having light food and having drinks waiting for Tariye and Demola to arrive. They did shortly and then we headed to a club. The club was in a residential neighborhood and it seemed a bizarre place. It was after the wedding, somewhat anti climactic, but anything would have been. We all commented that the smoke was a bit too much for us and until then we really had not seen anyone smoking at all. At about 1 am, we went back home for the night. It had been a fabulous day and we slept like babies.
Next is our last day and getting ready to go home.

Cheers,
Melinda, John and Matthew

Catching Up and the End of Our Adventure

Hi All. Sorry you haven't heard from us in a couple of days , but we have been BUSY! So I'll try to catch us up on the goings on. Friday was the eve of the wedding and here were so many things to do. We woke up fairly early and started going about the tasks that Miriam had in store for us. She was expecting about 40 for dinner after the rehearsal at the church and she really wanted to attend, so we all pitched into help. Of course we congregated as we did every morning for breakfast and had our pepper soup and boiled yam and fruit and coffee. Then it was off to the races. Miriam and Melinda took off for the open air food market to get supplies. Let's just say that being her "barrrow boy" (the young man that wheelbarrows your purchases to your vehicle) is a trip. She is like the energizer bunny on steroids. The woman can move and is a really tough bargainer. Within the space of 45 minutes we had purchased pineapples, cucumbers, tomatoes, papaya, huge mangoes, carrots, cabbages and some plastic containers to put food as well as other items. The market is still fascinating to us with its sights and sounds...a sensory explosion...fruits and vegetables, spices, dried fish and seafood, live chickens being carried upside down for sale, huge beef and lamb and pork carcasses being cut up for sale, and grocery items as well like cleaners and canned goods and such...acres of stalls...and then the other household items and clothes and appliances ...so many different things to see and hear and smell and touch.... and all the time vendors calling to us to come and purchase their wares...totally enveloping your senses. To others who do this on a daily basis, it is surely a chore, but to us it was a feast for the senses.

We headed back to the house and unloaded the goods. Meanwhile during that time Ilse had taken a group, including Matthew and John to the crafts market to make purchases that Melinda had requested. When they returned, Melinda was thrilled with the selections...the boys made great choices and Matthew really got some exceptional artwork and other gifts. Then it was down to the nitty gritty. Miriam's friend Ann had arrived with flowers and other flowers arrived from Lagos the night before and Ann started in on setting up an arrangement based on Tariye's instructions and prototype. She had purchased huge flowers like birds of paradise and delicate orchids and an assortment of other spectacular blooms and greens all native to Nigeria. She had us make a variety of arrangements from 3 foot tall glass containers filled with birds of paradise to smaller table top ones. All were incredibly striking and everyone pitched in...John, Mary Ann, Rebecca Thompson, Miriam, and we were led by Ann. Meanwhile, Dean Thompson was preparing the service while Tariye and her ladies were taking care of other business. Turner was making sure that all travel coordination was being attended to which was an intricate symphony of taxis, use of some large buses borrowed from the ministry of science and technology and private cars. We somehow managed to get everyone where they were supposed to be without losing anyone and all of these details were pretty well taken care of.

Along with Peace, Sarah, and Victoria ( the women that are employed by Miriam and Tariye) cooking preparations began in earnest for the evening. While the event was being catered, Miriam requested some side dishes like potato salad and fresh fruit and for good measure fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Because you are always worried about food safety, you really try to put the vegetables in boiled water for a bit to make sure to kill any organisms that might be on the skin, so that 's an added step that you have to take care of. Then dishes and silverware were collected from about the house to set up on the buffet. Meanwhile Matthews Larsen and Wentworth were cleaning tables and chairs and icing down the drinks for the party. At that point, Miriam's friend, Christine arrived in the nick of time to set up the tables and dress them up which was beautiful and good timing. The place looked lovely and festive and everyone went to get dressed and wait for the caterers and later the guests to arrive. The caterers provided the bulk of the dishes...one was in one corner of the lawn making akara, the fried hush puppy like concoction made from pounded black eyed peas, another was making suya, both over open fires. Then the other food arrived, rice and a corn and bean saald, cooked greens of two types, goat in a tomato sauce, pepper soup, and other assorted dishes that frankly in the flurry of activity that has gone on in the last few days, we have forgotten. It was all regional food and well presented. Meanwhile several of us, Jim John, both Matthews and Melinda manned the bar. The guests started arriving in earnest...Miriam's Niger wives--all friends that she has cultivated over the years from all over the world...Russia, Moldavia, Germany, Bavaria, and others married to Nigerian men, then family and friends of the couple on both sides. All told when everyone got there therer were upwards of 80 guests, about double than we predicted, and what a party! People were so much fun to talk to and hear where they live and what they are doing...so many well educated and beautifully dressed and interesting young and old people. We Americans felt somewhat lagging in terms of accomplishments and dress and purpose. To say that the party was hopping was an understatement...so much fun and lasted well past 10 pm...and there were things to get ready for the morning, so we all pitched in and between the many hands cleaned up the dishes and put away the food, collected the bottles and cans and left the rest for another time. We would all be getting up early for the big day so we retired around 11:30 or so...excited and in anticipation of the celebration that we came for. More about the wedding tonight when we will wrap up the trip.

Melinda, John, and Matthew

Oneuwaghe

Tonight, as Turner said at dinner, this house is fully deployed. If we haven't mentioned it, the house is expansive...7 very large bedrooms, an office for Turner, 7 bathrooms, big foyer, large living room, large sitting room, large dining room, huge commercial sized kitchen with big pantry, and several screened in rooms and and a couple of outer rooms and a lush set of yards complete with a neighborhood pet monkey and mango trees.



Todays activity, after our breakfast of pepper soup, boiled yam, plantain and fresh fruit, was to drive about 1 1/2 hours to the Gurara Waterfalls. The ride over was as interesting as the destination. Again, we cannot express our amazement at the number of cars, motorcylcles, people, goats, cows and roadside entrepreneurs. The ride is pretty scary because Nigerians, it seem, do not have to go to driver's education classes...actually the education is at the school of hard knocks...both literally and figuratively. Passing on the right or left is optional it seems as is driving in the oncoming lane...we're not kidding. You'd better be alert for sure. 15 people in a phonebooth, that's nothing...try putting a family of 5 plus parcels on a 50 cc motorbike...without helmets with the 4 year old perched over the back wheel hanging on for dear life...you get the picture...now multiply that by hundreds. We passed Zuma Rock on the way. It's a massive black stone at least 50 stories high visible for miles. A hotel was under construction nearby and local superstition has it that there shouldn't be anything that is nearby, so we think that construction has been halted several times.



Again the scene going down the road was filled with miles and miles of thrown together huts made out of a variety of building materials from tin to cement block to homemade bricks and wood sticks. The one issue that is apparent is that there is an inadequate system for getting rid of garbage. We were traveling in Diseye's car and asked him about it and he agreed that it was a big problem, but because of the lack of government support, there wasn't the infrastructure to manage it. It probably wasn't a big problem before plastic packaging. Also we talked about taxation and how the government got it's operating capital. Most of the common folks do not pay any taxes, live on next to nothing, yet because they pay for everything with cash and are not in debt. Okay...listen up all you Americans...there is no system of credit, so if you don't have the money, you don't buy it...novel concept, eh?!...probably a little extreme for us.



Enough of the soapbox...the Guarara Falls were about 200 feet tall cascading into a pool where we were able to swim and loll about after the steep climb down into the canyon. As we out of shape Americans struggled down the path, two Nigerian porters carried the full size packed ice chests on their heads... barefooted. We are a bunch of slugs! Once again Ilse provided us with a lovely picnic of salads and this time she brought along purchased Indian somosas, vegetable rolls, chicken curry rolls, and bread an cheeses...to drink we had a variety of drinks including Nigerian Star beer. Most of us went swimming and the water despite being warm was really refreshing...several in our party jumped off a rock about 15 feet high and Matthew dogpaddled one arm aloft across the lagoon so that he could take another 200 pictures...okay we exaggerated a bit. It was a really lovely afternoon that gave us time to relax before we had to make the 200 foot high hike back up the path, again with the porters making us look pathetically out of shape...then back in the car for the eventful ride home.



Back at Miriams, several of us folded the programs and put the decorative ribbons on them and spent the rest of the day planning for tomorrows activities...the rehearsal dinner. We are going to be helping out with food, and flowers and set up and expect about 40 at the house.

So, guess that's all for tonight, but we leave you with the title of this edition which is the Nigerian expression for , "Well Done!"... Onneuwaghe pronounced ON-WHY -AY. Usiakimi, an "adopted nephew" of Turner and Miriam gave us that one today when we were working, so to all of you...Oneuwaghe... and regards from Abuja...more tomorrow.

Melinda, John, and Matthew

s

Iron Must Yield

John woke up this morning to the call to prayer from the nearby mosque...he knew that it wasn't a recorded chant when the caller cleared his voice after coughing. It is a sound that we hear five times a day...the Muslim community here are Shiite.

People have been arriving steadily now as we approach the wedding day. Cousin Jim and his wife Mary Ann arrived last night from Michigan, sister Ebitari and husband Matthew came this morning along with the Pastor Dean Thompson and his wife Rebecca from Kentucky, and some friends of Tariye who live in Delhi, one of them went to Harvard Business School with Tariye.

So the game plan today was a trip to a local pottery village. Brother Diseye and his wife arranged the day and the transportation. After people had a late brunch to allow for jet lag, 4 cars and drivers came to load up people and a barbecue picnic to take with us.

We headed out for the 45 minute drive from the Maitama district (where Miriam and Turner live) to the village of Bwari. The drive for many of us was as exciting as the destination. We passed through a number of villages driving down the main commercial center. Driving in Nigeria is like driving in somewhat controlled chaos...cars, trucks and motorcyles everywhere and drivers that went to the Bill Wentworth School of Driving. The entire trip was a sensory feast...Everything imaginable is available on the side of the road...you want roasted corn...you can get it...you want tires...you can get them...iron work,clothes, furniture, pharmacy, electronics, passport photos, hardware, papayas, gasoline, or as they say, Petrol, literaly by the liter in used soda bottles, and of course the ubiquitous yam stand. The upholstered furnitre section of the road way was facinating. The shop and the finished product were completely out in the open. Perhaps a hundred finished pieces in leather and fabric lined the side of the road with open air shop immediately behind. the frames were nailed together and upholsterers including generator powered sewing machines applied the final touches. We were moving into a less prosperous area, but the sense you get even when you are in the poorer sections of the area is that these people have such an entrepreneurial sense it is remarkable. If there is any semblance of a business opportunity to be had, they are all over it and seem not to even understand what a limitation is. We all liked the names of the business/organisations. Our favorites were, Pinky and the Brain (for a girl's school) and an metal working shop named Iron Must Yield.

So we arrived athe Bwari Pottery Village and unloaded our supplies. Besides the driver, we had also taken along a cook who would prepare the traditional dish "Suya" Nigerian barbecue to us. Ilse and her mother had prepared salads and vegetables and dips and Miriam had packed coolers full of drinks and water. While Ilse and her mom and the cook began the preparation of the lunch, we went to take a tour of the pottery process given by the proprietor Stephen Mhya. Stephen was a particularly engaging man who lives in a house close by and oversees the operation. He was trained by an English potter and now they produce pottery by order and to sell in their "outlet" and at local bazaars. Everything in the process is done on the premises and all of the raw materials are Nigerian including the clay, save for kaolin which they have to put in to the pottery to make it stronger. The process is fascinating...first the raw clay is brought in and mixed with water and poured through sieves to get any sand out...then mixed again with water and let to dry until it is the perfect consistency to store in a cave-like "clay cellar" underground. When the potting process begins, the clay is pounded until pliable and any imperfections again culled out by hand and then the potter, who demonstrated using a kick wheel potter's wheel, deftly shapes whatever piece that he is making. The man who demonstrated made a pottery vase in short shrift with amazing dexterity. he's definitely done this before. Then it's off to the drying room for a week or so. Next are the firings...both the bisque and glaze firings are done in a wood fired kiln. Stephen claims his kiln reaches 1,300 degrees Celsius or if my math is correct 2,373 degrees. Any potters out there who can verify this temperature? The 16 or so guests did their best to provide their own version of an economic stimulus at the showroom.

The ride home was just as facinating as the ride in. Two memorable sights were a load of local yobu steers in the back of a large open bed straight truck. These local cows have huge horns like American longhorns and all of these cattle were lying down. Our driver explained that they always lie down on short trips and stand up on long ones. It was at this point that I figured he was just supplying and answer to my questions if he didn't know the real one or was having some fun at my expense. The other memorable sight was seeing a couple of cars headed towards us in the wrong lane (two lanes in each direction.) We were headed back to town and the traffic out of town was backed up for miles so the solution for several brave souls was to cross the center divider and drive in the wrong direction in our lane. No one seems to be overly concerned with this an everyone seems to adapt well.

We arrived home around 6:30 pm in time to watch a huge Nigerian sun set over the city. A few more guests were arriving from the airport and everyone set about their tasks for the evening. John and Matthew tried on their custom made Nigerian made suit for the wedding and let me tell you folks... they looked some sharp!
Pictures to follow!
NUA!!! (Nigerian for Good bye) (I think!)

Yes, Yes...

Yes, yes...So when one is agreeing with you here they say, "yes, yes"... and you hear that a lot, so that's how we begin the blog today. Busy day...slept like a baby and woke up late, around 9 Nigeria time. Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs, boiled plantain, boiled yam, fruit, homemade yogurt, and a cooked tomato, onion, and pepper salsa for lack of a better term. I realise now that I have never had a real yam before. We interchange the word yam for sweet potato in the US, but they are very different. The yam is very starchy and delicious and is one of the primary forms of carbohydrate here. Toast, while available, is not traditional here. The coffee that is served here is delicious and served with "tinned" milk...evaporated milk to you and us... We headed out to the bank which was a different experience than at home...first you must go through security, which makes you pass through a set of doors, one on the outside first and then it closes, you are scanned by a metal detector, and then you go through the other one into the bank . It was a little bit like...Beam me up Scottie on Star Trek. The naira, currency here is about 150 to the dollar. Miriam wanted to check to see what the going rate was because we will change money from her. That accomplished, we went to the chemist's shop...a/k/a the pharmacy to get more malaria pills. The malarone we are taking is quite expensive at home, and as it turns out even more pricey here...so we decided not to get the medication there, and do some research on an alternative drug that you take only once a week and is very inexpensive...John thinks that he should just add double quinine (tonic) with his gin and that will work, but I'm opting to talk to the doctor. Then we were off to the market.

This market is huge...stall after stall of everything that you couldever want...and probably some that you don't want...pots and pans, and cooking utensils made of wood, mops and brooms, belts, beautiful vibrant fabrics, watches and on and on and then you get to the vegetable and fruit stalls...a veritable Whole Foods, Nigerian style...peppers of all sorts, carrots and tomatoes, tropical fruits like we've never seen before and smoked fish and periwinkles and dried shrimp....and people...tons of people everywhere.

Everyone works hard here to scratch out a living and they are resourceful...the generators were humming as we passed several stalls with sewing machines going and clothes being sewn. On the side of the highways, you can see people with set up "shops" making furniture out of rattan material or as we saw today braiding hair. John tried to get his hair braided, but they didn't have enough glue to stick the braids on...haha...

We purchased some beautiful fabric and hope to go back again to get a bit more. Then we had to run home and get Tariye and go to do some errands with her. We went to the grocery store to pick up some sandwich items and snacks for people to have around the house. It is always interesting to see what different products are in foreign places. Local items were very reasonable but imported products were quite expensive, We found the furniture to be very expensive.... perhaps an opportunity for Moosehead but then it's sort of difficult to imagine a colonial dresser in a Nigerian home.
Tariye took us to a mall in an attempt to take care of some errands and we thought that it would be an opportune time to change some money at an ATM. The machine was out of cash so we went to the Hilton where there was an entire wall of ATM's.
I took out 20,000 naira and need to be sure and check out the transaction with my bank to ensure that that don't try and debit me 20,000 dollars.
We returned home in time to avoid the afternoon downpour complete with high winds and lightning. After about 30 minutes, everything cleared... including the heat. It was a very comfortable 68 degrees!
Dinner came early as more guests needed to be picked up at the airport. Several varieties on yams and and casava along with a delicious soup consisting of local greens and the smoked fish purchased the day before made a very enjoyable repast.
Turner and Miriam left for the airport following dinner to pick up more guests. We feel very fortunate to have the family to ourselves before the rest of the guests arrive.
We wiil try and post some pictures tomorrow but have experienced some difficulties .
Hope all is well back in the USA.